Dear Editor,
MUCH has been speculated on the potential implications of the presumptive Opposition Leader formally ascending to the post today. I’ve seen many viewpoints expressing worry about what a Mohamed-led Parliamentary Opposition would mean for the country and our democracy. I will respectfully depart from these notions, as I believe this anxiety is misplaced.
Over 55 per cent of the Guyanese electorate rejected APNU, the AFC, the FGM, and WIN at the polls, delivering the PPP/C the largest share of the popular vote in Guyana’s electoral history, disregarding Burnham’s magic numbers. The elections are over; the will of the people has already spoken. No government squatting in office. No manipulation of voter tabulation and certainly no Constitutional violation. Whatever unfolds today has implications for the Opposition and the Opposition alone. Our democracy remains strong and will handle it.
Our Constitution is clear: Article 184 (1) of the Constitution prescribes a meeting of all non-governmental members of the House where a vote is taken to elect an Opposition Leader. The Speaker chairs the meeting, but is ineligible to vote; Section 4 confirms that the vote shall be taken by a show of hands; Section 3 stipulates that the Opposition Leader can only be removed by a simple majority of non-Government members passing a vote of no-confidence at another meeting convened by the Speaker.
The PNC voting for Mohamed will only amount to an overt political posture, disregarding the doctrine of contagion by association under OFAC Magnitsky guidelines, and rejecting the merits of an eleven-count indictment in the Florida jurisdiction. By electing Mr. Mohamed as Opposition Leader, the PNC will send an unmistakable message to the United States that they endorse a fugitive offender indicted in their country. This message will be aimed at Guyana’s most important diplomatic partner, which recently played a decisive role in neutralising the most immediate threat to our territorial sovereignty, Nicolas Maduro, who has alleged ties to said fugitive offender as per Reuters.
This isn’t a neutral act; it is a deliberate political alignment with international consequences. Unsurprisingly, Demerara Waves reports that the Terrence Campbell-led APNU is against abstaining in the hopes of “future collaboration” with WIN. Of course, this comes after Ganesh Mahipaul told the press that WIN rebuffed APNU upon request for parliamentary collaboration. What is this, if not feeble subservience?
Attempts to cloud this matter with emotive outbursts are woefully telling. Nazar Mohamed’s open letter to the Speaker relies on personal grievance, bitterness and accusations of betrayal, whilst – again- evading the substance of the indictments themselves. He refers to the Florida indictments as “minimal, unproven allegations” without elaboration. He refers to the 2023 Reuters report as “sensational”, and insists that the OFAC sanctions and Reuters report translated “solely to an alleged tax matter” in indictments and not the large-scale drug trafficking, smuggling of Venezuelan gold and financing terrorism that Reuters has alleged. If such is the case, why hasn’t Azruddin convened a Press Conference and addressed the merits of the Florida indictments and the Reuters’ accusations? Hiding behind curated Facebook monologues won’t provide the clarity, scrutiny and coverage that comes with a press conference.
Amidst all of this, several APNU MPs, including Sherod Duncan, have sought to justify Azruddin Mohamed’s election to Opposition Leader as akin to Cheddi Jagan’s election to Office of Premier in the 1960s. Dr. Cheddi Jagan sought to liberate Guyana from colonialism and dictatorship; Mohamed seeks to liberate himself from his tax obligations. Drawing this parallel is a grave insult to our history.
This also feeds into the false narrative of persecution being peddled by the Mohameds. The Florida indictments entail an investigation period beginning in 2017, under Granger with Trump in power in the U.S. The 2024 OFAC sanctions arrived under the Biden Presidency and Ali in his first term. The Florida indictments landed with both Trump and Ali in their second terms. The U.S. Congress can barely compel the release of the Epstein files, yet we are asked to believe that the Government of Guyana can somehow “request” sealed filings from the U.S. Department of Justice, triggering an extradition request signed by Marco Rubio himself. This is a terribly flimsy argument. No doubt, the office of Opposition Leader will be used to legitimize and further embellish this spurious narrative.
What’s at stake here is not the stability of Guyana’s democracy, but the future credibility and survival of the PNC, now grappling with fragmentation after its historic electoral collapse in 2025 following attempts to subvert democracy in 2020. Mohamed will only emerge as the second South American political leader to be indicted with pending extraction from the U.S. As for the PNC, it seems they only seek to bury themselves further.
Indeed, better must come.
Yours faithfully,
Nikhil Sankar
